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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 25th, 2025–Jan 26th, 2025

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Cariboos, North Rockies, McBride, Quesnel, Sugarbowl, Kakwa, McGregor, Pine Pass, Renshaw.

Enjoy the sun and powder this weekend, but continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Several natural and human-triggered avalanches up to size 2.5 were reported across the region over the past few days. These avalanches were primarily wind and storm slabs that failed on a buried crust or surface hoar layer. While most occurred near ridgetops, some were below treeline. Two large cornice failures were also reported.

We expect storm slabs to remain reactive to human triggers, and the sunny warm weather to trigger loose wet avalanches.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 50 cm of recent snowfall combined with moderate to strong westerly winds built storm slabs in the region. The most snow fell in the northern and central areas, with less in the south.

The storm snow may take a while to bond, especially where it overlies hard crusts, facets, and surface hoar.

With sunny skies and a temperature inversion in the forecast, we anticipate moist snow and loose wet avalanches running during the warmest parts of the day. As temperatures drop later, a new crust is likely to form in some areas.

We continue to track early January and early December surface hoar and crust layers down 30 to 60 cm and 80 to 150 cm, respectively. Both are considered unlikely to trigger.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Mostly clear. 30 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Sunday

Mostly sunny. 40 to 60 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C, inversion.

Monday

Sunny. 60 to 70 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C, inversion.

Tuesday

Sunny with increasing cloud in the afternoon. 40 to 50 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4°C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Keep your guard up as storm slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering.
  • Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the crust.
  • Be aware of the potential for larger than expected storm slabs due to buried surface hoar.
  • A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling, and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.